The Pictonian War A Hetalia Children Adventure
by Freckles Forever
Summary: The Hetalia kids are back for another adventure, but this time they come face to face with the Pictonians! After being captured by them, the Children discover a War that's been going on between the Pictonians that has lasted for the past six years. That's since their last invasion on Earth! Will they resolve this conflict before things get worse?
1. The Aliens Are Here!

Fall had now cooled into the season of Winter and many families were struggling to enjoy their last weeks of going to school and work taking a day off before Winter vacation for them. Many of them were going on a late vacation, and others were hanging with friends and families and going to parties. This particular day in December was a busy one for the skating rinks of New York. Everyone was enjoying themselves before the days of relaxation would get busier, especially a certain number of eight children who had just gotten their skates on and making their way towards the rink. "Funky Town" by Echo Pseudo was playing in the background.

"Have fun, everybody! It's the first time we've been able to hang out together without something going wrong!" Amelia's excited voice rang out from the loud music.

"But of course!" Francis agreed with a chuckle. He stepped into the rink, but he slipped and gripped the railing tightly and he looked like a scared cat. Elizabeth snickered and turned away covering her mouth. He looked so ridiculous!

Francis stood upright on wobbly feet and forced a smile.

"Peace of cake! Hohoho-" he nearly fell again and gripped the railing.

"Do you need help?" Amelia offered, but Francis shook his head.

"Non! It's been a while since I skated is all it is!"

"Well, okay. If you need a hand just-" Amelia was cut off when someone sped past them in a blur and onto the rink. It was Ivan, of course. Amelia frowned and cupped her hands over her mouth and shouted.

"Show off! This isn't Ice skating, it's roller skating!" but she knew it was pointless shouting at him when he was already halfway down the other side. She sighed and shrugged.

Germanacy stepped onto the rink with Ita and Kibu following her. May stepped onto the rink, but she too started slipping and sliding and fell on her butt. She felt embarrassed as Amelia helped her up.

"Maybe Francis and I should stay behind?"

"Come on!" Amelia pouted, "That's no fun, watching from the sideline."

"You go ahead," May said as she turned away, still feeling embarrassed. Amelia shook her head and pulled her forward.

"No you don't! We came here to have fun! Come on, I'll teach ya!"

"But I don't want to be a burden," May told her.

"You're not a burden. You're going to have fun really soon, I promise! That's the promise of a heroine!" May still wasn't sure about this, but she nodded her head.

"Okay."

Amelia smiled as she looked back at Elizabeth.

"Oh and Elizabeth? Help Francis, will you?" She didn't wait for a response. "Thanks!"

Elizabeth, meanwhile, had just stepped onto the rink when Amelia 'asked her to help Francis'. She froze and stared after Amelia as if the American had handed her a cobra. Her feet felt light and wobbly. She had skated for years and knew how to balance on skates. But the fact that she was chosen {not asked}to help Francis made her suddenly forget about confidence. What's worse, she seemed to ALWAYS be stuck with him. WHY?!

Elizabeth slid her eyes to her right at Francis, who had just regained himself from falling for a third time. He smiled at her and looked as if he was going to hug her.

"My hero!" he said as he took a step toward her. He slid, of course, and held onto her for support. Elizabeth shrieked and he didn't understand why, until he noticed that he had...um...accidentally, of course...touched her breast as he tried to hold onto her from falling. Elizabeth, her face red, slapped him. This not only knocked Francis off his feet, but she stumbled too and gave him bloodshot eyes as if to warn him never to do that to her again. Francis shivered as it seemed like her fingernails were scratching and leaving marks on the floor.

"S-sorry!" he squeaked.

Germanacy was enjoying herself, until Ita had caught up and was skating beside her. She tried to ignore his goofy face.

"Sooooooooooo, Nancy. You're...available, right?" he asked, sounding rather shy for himself.

"Vhat are you talking about?" she asked, but then understood what he meant. She decided not to answer and continued skating. Ita followed her and had joined her side again.

"Because I am!"

"Big surprise," she thought sarcastically to herself. She remained quiet and tried to hasten her pace, wanting to get away from his awkward questions. But no matter how fast she tried to skate, he always caught up! What was with him? He's been really crazy this whole day. Ita was always crazy, but this was different.

"Why are you following me?" she finally asked.

"Because we're friends and friends should stick together!" Ita smiled.

"Nein, zhis is different! It's almost like you're trying to match mein movements," she clarified.

"Oh, well I guess it's because I like you, Nancy." The two stopped.

"You mean 'like', like a friend? Or 'like, like'? Like you vant to hold mein hand or something?" That was a mistake to mention it, because Ita took her hand.

"Good idea!" He smiled. Nancy pulled her hand away.

"Nein! Bad idea!" It was then that Kibu had caught up to them. He stopped for breath.

"At last, I have been trying to catch up to you two for quite a while," he said.

"Oh, sorry, Kibu. Ita vas just being..." she decided not to finish. She didn't want to say 'annoying' and hurt Ita's feelings, but she didn't want to encourage him either. She then felt a tingle go down her spine.

Something didn't feel right and she glanced around the rink. Kibu frowned, he could tell something was wrong and he could feel it too.

"Is something wrong?" Ita asked, "you look so scary with your serious faces."

"Does somezhing seem off to you, Ita?" Nancy asked him.

"No," Ita said, confused. "What is it?"

"Ve have to vorn zhe others," Nancy told them. Kibu nodded.

"Hai, I agree." They started skating away, with Ita confused but he followed them.

"There ya go!" Amelia smiled as May was starting to get the hang of keeping her balance and skating well for a beginner. May smiled too, this was fun. A lot of fun! She felt proud of herself, but a chill ran down her spine and she stopped.

"What's wrong?" Amelia asked as she too stopped.

"I don't know. I just have a bad feeling."

"Maybe you're just hungry? I'm starting to starve too," Amelia suggested. May shook her head.

"No, that's not it." She glanced around and caught movement. "There!" she pointed to a figure who was standing outside the skating area.

"T-that can't be! No! Why are they here?!" Amelia's voice trembled.

"We have to tell the others!" May told her.

"Uh, Duh! This is high alert!" Amelia said.

"May, Amelia!" Nancy said as she, Ita, and Kibu skated up.

"Something is wrong! We don't know what, but something is!" Kibu told them. May nodded.

"Yeah, I felt it too. And we saw it too!"

"Really?!" the Axis trio shouted in union.

"Let's get the others first and then we can talk about it," Amelia said.

"I agree," May and the others nodded.

Elizabeth and Francis were still trying to regain balance, but every time Elizabeth stood up with Francis, his feet slipped under him and they would fall. EVERYTIME! It was getting on Elizabeth's nerves. She was not having fun at all with Francis dragging her down.

"Do you want to skate, or not?!" she almost yelled. Her impatience with Francis was only harder on teaching him.

"I'm sorry, I'm just clumsy!" Francis whimpered under the heat of her glare. The five others skated up.

"Why are you guys still here?" Amelia asked. Elizabeth glared at her.

"Don't ask!"

"Elizabeth is mad because I accidentally touch her-"

"Shut up, we're not talking about that!"

"We have to talk about something now! Something bad," May said. Ivan had skated up by then.

"Are we all leaving?" he sounded a bit disappointed.

"There you are!" Amelia said, "You disappeared after taking off."

"Sorry, I was having fun," he said shyly.

"Yeah, showing off your skating tricks, I bet," Amelia thought but kept it to herself.

"Now that we're all here we can talk about what Amelia and I saw," May said, getting everyone's attention.

"You won't believe this but-"

"We saw a Pictonian!" Amelia said, interrupting May.

"A What?" Elizabeth frowned.

"A Pictonian!" Amelia repeated.

"I heard you! I mean what are they doing here?"

"That's the point!"

"If the Pictonians are here, zhen it can't be good," Nancy concluded.

"But the Pictonians are our friends now, right? Maybe they came for a visit?" the always cheerful Ita suggested.

"Then why would I have a bad feeling about the whole thing?" May asked. Nobody said anything.

"We should investigate," Francis nodded.

"I agree, we should follow them and-" Kibu said but was interrupted by a rumbling that made the ground shake.

"An earthquake?" Ivan said as they all stumbled to the floor and reached for the railing to hold on.

"No, it's something worse!" May's voice said in horror. The other people inside the building were screaming and children were crying in alarm. Then, one by one, they started to fade away.

"What's going on?!" Amelia screamed.

"I wish I knew!" May told her. Then their vision faded and the skating rink disappeared before they could understand what was happening.


	2. Kidnapped!

The next thing the children knew, they were in a dark room with the people from the skating rink. There were mumbles and worried voices amounts them and May and the others did as best as they could to stay close to each other. If something was going to happen, they wanted to stay together no matter what.

"Where do you suppose we are?" Amelia asked.

"I don't know. But I don't have a good feeling about this," May answered a moment later. Then a door opened and light lit up the room. Three Pictonians walked in, their dangly balls on their heads glowing.

As they approached them, the people began backing away. No one knew what was going on, neither did they know what the Picontonias were going to do to them.

"Get out! Now!" one Pictonian said as the other two Pictonians surrounded them and began pushing them out the room.

As they all walked out of the dark room, the children noticed that they were on the Pictonian's space ship. They all gave each other worried expressions. Why were they aboard the Pictonian ship? Why were the Pictonians here anyway?

Both the children and the people were forced down the halls into another room. The Pictonians made them all stand in a line and they began scanning the people. At least that's what it looked like as the dangly balls glowed a light around the people. When one of the Pictonians stood in front the children and began to 'scan' them, the dangly ball glowed a bright red.

"It is you! All of you!" it cried.

"What's us?" May asked, looking nervous. The three Pictonians surrounded them.

"You're coming with us to see the King!" The second said.

"A king?" Ivan said, "Look we don't understanding what's going on!"

"Don't start worrying yet," the third Pictonian said. "You'll find out soon enough!"

The children were shoved away from the group of people and were forced out of the room and down another set of hallways.

They came to a large door at the end of the last hall and the Pictonians knocked on the door. The door swung open and the children were shoved into the room. The Pictonians pushed them to the ground and demanded that they bow to their king.

The children stared up at the throne of the Pictonian king and a tall king he was! He must have been about ten feet high. The king pointed the scepter in his hand at the children.

"So, these are them? The very same humans who dare try to make a fool out of us?" he asked. The third Pictonian stepped forward and nodded after genuflecting to the king.

"Yes, my King. These are the humans we have been searching for for the last five years."

The King smirked, or maybe it seemed that way since he had no face to the children. He stood up from his throne and walked down the steps to the children.

"So, you thought you could trick us with your dirty tricks, did you? It's because of you that we Pictonians have been divided into two tribes."

"Could I ask a question, your Majesty?" Elizabeth asked. The King stared at her and nodded.

"Very well, little she-human. What is it you ask?"

"What is going on? Why are you accusing us of such crimes we have not committed?"

"Accusing you of crimes you haven't committed, you ask? 'What's going on'? Don't play dumb with me. You may have fooled some of my people, but you won't be able to fool me."

"She is telling zhe truth," Nancy spoke up. "Ve have no idea vhat it is you vant."

"Silence! I wasn't speaking to you!" The King yelled as he slapped her across the face with his scepter. "But if you wish to be enlightened and reminded of your crimes, then so be it."

He turned to the first Pictonian.

"Bring us the Forbidden Object," he told him. The Pictonian bowed its head and left the room. He returned a minute later and handed something to the King.

"Now gaze upon this dreadful weapon of yours and tell me if I'm still lying," he said, his voice sounding like it was in a frown. He opened his palm and the children were speechless. In his palm was a permanent marker.

The children exchanged glances. Ita smiled and said in a carefree way.

"Hey, look! It'sa permanent marker!" he took it from the King and waved it around, laughing.

"A-ha! So you do know of its evil powers it posses! You ARE guilty!" The King roared.

"Um, your Highness? I can explain, this is not a dangerous item," Amelia said, standing up and showed it to the King. "Many people on Earth use them. You can draw anything with it and-"

"Silence!" The King screeched at her and took the marker from her. "Now that you have seen the Forbidden Object perhaps you can now answer for your crimes!"

"What crimes?" Kibu asked.

"It's because of you and this Forbidden Object that my kingdom is divided. And the penalty for that can only be death for you Humans!"

"What have we done to wrong you?!" May asked.

"Enough from you!" he turned to the three Pictonians, "Take them to the prison room with our other prisoners."

The Pictonians bowed to their King and made the children stand.

"Move it!" the second Pictonian said.

"I don't think so!" Amelia said as she took the lance from it and started running for the door. "Everyone run!"

"Where do you think you're going?" the King said, a glare for sure in his voice. As Amelia and the others rushed to the door, the doors opened and two more Pictonians walked in.

"Out of our way!" Amelia yelled as she raised the lance. Before the children knew what happened, the lance was sliced in half. Amelia stared at the broken lance in disbelief. The two new Pictonians had...claws! Long, sharp ones!

The children looked around and saw that all the Pictonians in the room had claws, even the King!

"What's going on? I don't remember Pictonians having claws," Amelia said as the children stood back to back.

"They must think that we're our parents," May told her. The King chuckled.

"What's wrong, Little Humans? Don't have claws too? No? Then you submit to us, unless you choose death."

Amelia didn't want to, but she dropped the two ends of the lance to the floor. The children didn't struggle as the Pictonians surrounded them.

"So you Humans do have brains after all. You're smart not to fight us," he said, a smile in his voice.

"If I may ask, Your Majesty," Francis spoke up, "What do you plan to do to us?" He was cowering behind Elizabeth. Elizabeth frowned and pulled his hands off her shoulders.

"I'll kill you all personally when we get back to Picto. But if you behave, maybe I'll make you my slaves instead. But that all depends on your cooperation." Then he frowned, or it seemed like it as he stared at them. "Anymore questions?"

"Non, that's all I wanted to know."

"Good! Now get to your cells!" the King said as he turned away. The five Pictonians shoved them out of the room and down the halls until they came to the prison room.

The children were led to separate cells and each was alone in the cell. May sat in her cell, still trying to figure out what was going on. Why did the Pictonians think they were their parents? Why didn't they have those crazy 'faces' Italy drew once upon a time? Were they a different tribe?

"What are we all going to do now? We're all trapped by the Pictonians. Is there no hope of escape?" she thought out load to herself as she stared out between the cell bars.

"It's nice to know that I'm not the only one who has been caught by those faceless creatures," came a voice. May froze. She knew that voice!

She slowly turned around and her face turned a pale white.

The person stepped out of the shadows and he smirked.

"Long time no see, Mayling Yao. I assume you have been well since our little...dispute?" he said.

May was speechless.

"Y...Yao?"

The Chinese man smiled and nodded.

"At your service. Well, almost."


	3. Planet Picto

May could not believe it! Yao...he was here!

"Yao?! How did you...where have you been?!" she stammered. Yao smiled, but she wouldn't call it a friendly kind.

"I'm looking for someone, Mayling. Don't worry yourself too much, I'm not after you or your friends...this time."

"Then who?"

"You know what the funny thing is? I don't know, to be honest. But I'm told that person is worth the trouble. Even if I have been captured by the Pictonians," Yao said with a chuckle. May frowned.

"I bet you do know who you're looking for and you just don't want to tell me because it could spoil your sinister plan. Am I right?"

"No, May. I am telling you the truth. I know not whom I'm looking for, but I will when I see them," Yao told her, sounding serious and not sarcastic like she expected.

"Well, when my friends and I are getting out of here we're taking you with us-"

"That's very kind of you, May. Really," he smiled.

"But when we bring you back, you're going to prison to answer for your crimes," May finished. Yao frowned.

"And here I thought you were being nice."

"Sorry to disappoint you," May said with sarcasm. Yao shrugged.

"Fair is fair, I guess. But I'm quite interested, May, on how you plan on escaping?"

"I...," May wasn't sure how to answer him.

"Hmm?" Yao asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't know yet, Yao. But I'll think of something," May frowned as she crossed her arms. She didn't want to give him any encouragement.

"While you do that, May, I think it would be best to say that the Pictonians will bring us back to Picto. You do know they came to earth to capture the people, don't you?"

"For what reason do they need to do this?" May asked him. Yao shrugged.

"For slave labor, I bet."

May turned from him and pulled at the cell bars containing them. Yao sighed in hopelessness and shook his head.

"What are you doing, May? Pictonians didn't make the cell bars cheap. You'll going to have to think of something else."

"I'm not going to just sit here, you know! I'm going to find my friends and then we're going to escape this place," May told him.

"Like it or not, we won't be able to break those bars. We'll have to escape with a better plan than that. As much as I'm sure that we both hate the idea, we're going to have to work together to escape."

"You're right, Yao. I DO hate it," May frowned. Yao nodded.

"I agree, but we're going to have to help each other out if we are to escape the Pictonians. So, I'll help you and your friends escape Picto if you help me find the person I'm looking for. A deal?" Yao said as he held his hand out for a shake. May stared at his hand for a long moment.

"I'm not making any promises with you, Yao. I don't trust you enough for that," she answered. Yao let his hand rest beside his side and nodded.

"I don't think I would trust myself either if I were in your shoes. Very well, if you wish. I guess that means each man for himself?"

"You guessed right," May frowned.

The door to the cell room opened and a Pictonian stepped in and it pointed some kind of odd gun at them. At least it looked similar to a gun.

"Get out!" it demanded. May and Yao walked out with their hands up. The Pictonian lead them down the halls and May's friends and the people who were captured joined them. They were lead to the entrance and the door opened like a sliding glass door. Everyone was surprised when they saw they were no longer on Earth. It didn't seem like a planet at all, everywhere looked completely white and it looked more like a ghost town.

The escalator slid out of the ship and to the white soil of Picto. The Pictonians pushed them down the escalator and into the city. The other Pictonian citizens who saw them appeared to be glaring at them as if they hated their spices. Maybe they did?

"I'ma scared!" Ita whined, "I'a want to go home!" He held on to Nancy, who pushed him off her.

"Quiet! How do you zhink I feel?"

"I wonder what's going to happen to us?" Ivan said, feeling a shiver. Kibu shrugged.

"I don't know. All we can do is wait and see what they plan to do to us."

They were halted as the King arrived off the ship and he stood proudly as he faced the citizens.

"My children, I have captured those filthy humans who have caused us so much pain. Thus I will put them to work as our slaves. But this is not all, you are free to keep a few of the filth as your pets."

An excited roar of cheer erupted from the gathered Pictonians. The King chuckled and raised his hand for silence.

"I have brought much more exciting news. Those humans that have caused our friends and families to split have been captured. And I will feed them to the Warthworms this very afternoon," he announced. Angry shouts, savage shouts, excited shouts echoed throughout the city. The King pointed to the children and brought them forward so they stood next to him.

"Behold the humans that have caused much confusion amounts us! Who hates them as much as so to wish their death?!"

Loud, defining shouts from the Pictonians. The children were horrified.

"And who wants to see their blood spill?!"

Another savage roar from the Pictonians.

"No doubt we all want to witness such excitement. But we won't have to wait so long, my children. Come to the arena this afternoon and we all will see them die and then we will be rid of them forever!"

Excited mummers were exchanged from the Pictonians as the King turned away.

"How can you be so cruel?!" came a shout. The King turned to Ita, who had shouted. He looked close to tears. The King walked up to him.

"You fear death...I understand. It is a natural thing for you humans to be afraid to die. It proves how much you humans are weak. If I truly felt sorry for you then I would say that your death would be quick, but I feel nothing for you. You all shall die slowly and painfully," he said. He turned to the two guards. "You know what to do with them. I bet they will look delicious to our warthworms. They haven't had any human flesh in such a long while. I'm sure they'll be nice little treats for them."

The two Pictonians bowed to the King and pointed their gun-like weapons at the children.

"Move it!" one of them demanded.

Then came loud shouts and the city looked as if it was in an uproar. The King growled and he stepped forward.

"It's them again! The Rebels! No doubt they came to rescue the humans, don't let them take these at any coast! I don't want to disappoint the Warthworms or my citizens," claws poked out of his hands.

The 'Rebels' that the King spoke of were Pictonians with weird markings on their faces. He stepped forward as two of the Rebels rushed up and he slashed his claws at them, which the Rebels dodged and fought back with just as much force, even though they had no claws.

While the King was distracted, three of the rebels sneaked up behind the Pictonians guarding the children and knocked them out.

"Come with us and you shall live," one of them said. The other two Rebels with it untied the children.

"Yeah, I want to live!" Ita said. The King had fought off the Rebels he was fighting and charged at them.

"No! You shall not take them from me!" he yelled.

"Come, quickly!" the lead Rebel said as he took May by the hand and the children followed it, while the other two remaining did what they could to hold the King back.

"I won't let you keep them forever! I'll take them back, one way or another!"

The Rebels didn't stop until they brought the children below ground in their hideout. Once the children caught their breath, they saw more of the Rebels with weird markings on their faces.

"Where have you taken us?" Elizabeth asked. The lead Rebel had a weird face that looked as if it was smiling in a goofy way.

"To the one place you can be safe. Our Underground Kingdom, lead by our Princess Pictonova," he said. May looked around.

"So you could only rescue us?"

"Unfortunately, yes. It would be quite difficult for us to rescue all the humans at once. Are you looking for a friend perhaps?"

"I wouldn't call him a friend, but he was with us," she nodded. Amelia frowned.

"You talking about Yao? Forget him, maybe he'll get killed by King Pictobreath. Serves him right too!"

"I wouldn't doubt that he may have found a way to escape without the Pictonians noticing. He's disappeared before."

"Maybe, but I still don't care."

"Our Princess is eager to meet you all," the silly faced Pictonian said. "Please, come with me."

He lead them to a lovely young woman with long, flowy hair and a cute dress.

"I am pleased to meet you all, Children of the great Eight Nations," she said, in a voice the children knew had to be a smile.


	4. His name is Ari

The children stared at the Pictonian princess before them with their mouths agape. It was her! She was the one who invaded the Earth not so long ago. May was the first to speak.

"I'm sorry for staring, but...well, we didn't expect to see you," she glanced around their surroundings. "And if you're the princess then surely not here either. What happened up there on the surface?"

"I have heard that my father left Picto to invade earth, and when some of my friends saw him return with humans, I knew we had to do something. Of course, our numbers were small and we could only save a few. And we found you," the princess said. She turned away from them, sorrow in her voice.

"I'm sorry that this had to happen to you again. I thought that when I returned to Picto...things would be different. But it looks as if it has only become worse."

The children exchanged glances. Ivan stepped forward.

"What are you talking about? What's going on?"

The princess looked at them and sighed.

"It all began years ago before the first invasion on your planet. My father had been ruler to the Pictonians for as long as I can remember and he had always hated the humans. There were other aliens besides us who were claiming the other planets. Father wanted our territory to expand and so he began searching for a place to claim as our new home. Then he found your planet and we watched the human life for some time. Finally Father decided that the humans needed a better and more intelligent ruler, so he began to make preparations to invade. I begged him for me and my troops to invade it first and once we had control then he could arrive and finish the claim of your planet. But I'm sure you all know that after we spent some time with your kind, we decided that the planet should be left alone as it was and let the humans rule their own planet.

I brought back the Item one of you humans gave me to draw faces to Picto and showed it to Father. Of course, he didn't accept the gift and scolded me for not taking the planet. I tried everything to make him reconsider, but he thought I had betrayed my own and sent me and my troops here to the Underground where we live as a separate kingdom. I thought that if I brought back the Item, it would help our people. But instead, it only made things worse. Now we live at war with one another," the princess explained.

"So that's why king Picto is all dead set on killing us," Amelia said, taking it all into consideration. "He must think that we're the ones who started this war because he thinks we're our parents."

"Is zhere anyzhing ve can do to make him change him mind und send us all home?" Germanancy asked her. The princess shrugged and shook her head.

"I do not know what we can do. I have tried everything. I even offered to give him a face."

"I don't want to spend the rest of my life in this place!" Ita whined.

"Surely there is a way?" Elizabeth asked. The princess looked thoughtful.

"I don't know if I can help you, but we do have a young human who lives here with us who may be able to help you escape."

The children stared at her.

"You mean that someone has been living here with you? For how long?" Francis asked.

"All his life, we assume. He was once a prisoner from my Father's kingdom, but ever since I returned to Picto I brought him here with me. He used to live without emotion, but he has loosened up a lot since then. I know for sure that he can help you escape."

"Princess, we promise you that we won't leave this planet until you and your father make up so you can live peacefully together with him again," May promised.

"You can call me Pictonova. Thank you all," the princess said in a voice that sounded like a smile. She turned towards a dark corner in the room.

"Ari, I have a job for you."

A teenage boy around 17 maybe walked into the light of the Throne Room and bow to one knee in front of Pictonova.

"You sent for me, your Highness?'"

"Yes, Ari. I want you to help these children return home to Earth. I know it may be a bit hard to connect with your own species, but I also want you to go back where you belong as well," Pictonova told him. The boy, Ari, stood up and stared at the children in curiosity. He had clearly never seen another person like him before. He blushed and looked down at the floor.

"Sorry! I...uh...Hello, I guess? My name is Ari."

"Hi there, Ari!" Ita chirped as he waved at the other teenager. Again, Ari stared at him a moment before nodding a hello.

"We're told you can help us escape Picto," May spoke softly so Ari wouldn't feel so awkward.

"I...guess so," Ari answered.

"But we want to try to help Pictonova and her dad make up first before we go," Amelia joined in. "That's the least we can do."

"Naive fool," Ari spoke, "You can't talk sense into King Picto. He won't listen to humans. You'll be wasting your time."

"Pictonova said you could help us," Ivan said. Ari frowned.

"Excuse me for being so rude, but if you have any ideas, please, do share."

Ivan didn't know what to say and turned away. Elizabeth glared at Ari.

"Just because he doesn't have any ideas doesn't mean you should be so mean! We at least want to try and help the Pictonians. If we don't, there will never be peace among them and King Picto will only invade earth again and take more people as slaves. You're a human, can't you at least relate to that?"

Ari stared at her with a serious expression on his face.

"You're a human, but I'm not. Human emotions does not affect me."

"What do you mean you're not a human! Of course you are! You're okay with King Picto killing those like you?!"

"Elizabeth," May said pulling her back. "Ari has not been around other people. You can't blame him for that."

Elizabeth frowned and crossed her arms but she didn't argue anymore.

"Whatever," she mumbled.

"Ari," Pictonova said as she stepped forward to him. "Please, you must understand that you don't belong here. You must go back to Earth. The only way for you to do that is to help these children. I understand that it will be hard and challenging, but it's what I want for you. As much as you hate to admit it, you are a human so you must learn what it means to be one."

Ari frowned and was quiet, but he nodded a moment later.

"Alright then, I guess I'll try."

Pictonova turned to the children.

"I wish you luck and be careful. Whatever Ari tells you to do, do it. He knows how to survive here."

"Thank you, Pictonova," May smiled a thanks.

Ari walked past so he could be ahead of them.

"Don't fall behind. I don't want to come looking for you," he mumbled. Elizabeth stuck her tongue out at him. Ari was confused by it of course and stared at her. Elizabeth rolled her eyes as she looked away from him.


	5. Chapter 5

Ari and the children made their way to the surface within a few minutes, but Ari didn't say much to them. Elizabeth was still annoyed by him, it seemed, because she walked with her arms crossed and didn't look as if she really appreciated it.

"If I'm not mistaken," Ari said. "I do believe we can escape Picto by taking one of the ships. However, King Picto will most likely have every pictonian out and about looking for you. We have to wear disguises if we're going to escape safely."

"Um, that's a good plan an all, but I thought we told you we were going to help King Picto and Pictonova get back together and live as one family again?" Amelia said. Ari turned a glare on her.

"You're still dead set on doing that? You can't make King Picto change his mind, you heard the Princess. It's impossible!"

"Sorry, Ari," May said. "But we made a promise to Pictonova that we were not going to leave here until we fixed the problem. Like it or not, but we're staying. We never brake a promise, ever." She said that in an understanding way for Ari's concern, but she also wanted him to know that they were not going to change their mind. Ari crossed his arms and shook his head.

"You want to get out of here alive, don't you? Princess Pictonova left me in charge of you, and I don't break a promise to her. Now I say we leave now and forget about the dispute between them. It has nothing to do with us."

"But King Picto started this war and made people involved in this too. I know you want to please the Princess, so do we. And if you help us come up with a plan to end this dispute between them, Pictonova will be even more grateful to you," May told him as she put a hand on his shoulder. Ari frowned and slapped her hand away.

"I'm not like you, I'm not a human. What ever happens in this war doesn't involve me."

"What are you talking about?" Ita asked, "Of course you're a human like all of us."

"No!" Ari said as he turned away and held his head. "Maybe I was once, but I'm not anymore. I don't remember my parents, nor do I remember who they were or what they looked like. I was taken away from them when I was young, and that was long before I could remember."

"I'm sorry," Francis said, hanging his head. "We didn't know-"

"That's right, you don't! So shut up about it and let's just get out of here!" Ari interrupted him and walked ahead again. Ivan noticed that Elizabeth had turned away from the conversation.

"You don't have say in this?" he asked her.

"Like he said, it's none of our business what he thinks. If he doesn't want to help us, then fine! It's not like we need him anyway," she frowned as she glared at the floor.

"That doesn't sound like you," Ivan said as he tilted his head a bit. "I thought you would be angry at him for leaving us."

"Guess I'm just not in the mood for being angry," Elizabeth said. "Anyway, I'm sure King Picto will grant us permission to leave once we fix everything."

"But King Picto has everyone on the planet looking for us," Kibu said. "Anyone who finds us will most likely take us to the Wrathworms. What ever a 'Wrathworm' is?"

"I don't want to find out," Amelia said.

"Hey!" Ari called from ahead. "Are you coming or not?"

The children exchanged glances before May spoke.

"I'm sorry, Ari, but we're going to stay on the planet until our mission here is complete."

Ari stared at them for a long moment and frowned.

"Fine!" he said. "Go ahead and get killed for all I care, because I don't!" then he turned away and left them for good.

"So what are we going to do now without Ari around to help us?" Amelia asked.

"We have to come up with a way for King Picto to give us a chance in proving to him that we're not at all what he thinks we are," May told her friends. "In other words...a reception."

"A what?" Elizabeth asked her with a raised eyebrow. "Did you not hear what Pictonova said? She said that she tried everything our fathers did in trying to convince him that humans were not at all what he expected, and it failed. He's too blind by his anger towards us that he won't take anything we say to mind."

"Which is way we need to come up with something different," May said with a sly smile. "So...any ideas, dazzle me?"

Her friends only gave her blank expressions. May's hopes began to sink.

"You mean you don't have any ideas?"

"What exactly do you want us to do?" Amelia asked.

"You know, the usual? Your talents? Anything you think would be a good way to entertain someone?"

"Well, I think I can make a good King Cake," Amelia suggested. "It's an LA thing, but I think it's good."

"Yes, food! Anything else?" May asked.

"What'sa King Cake?" Ita asked Amelia. Elizabeth nodded sarcastically.

"Exactly, Ita. Exactly." She turned to Amelia, who shrugged.

"You know, Madi Gras?" she asked, but her friends only stared at her. Amelia waved it off.

"Whatever, ya'll don't know nothing about Louisiana."

"Could we focus, please?" May asked as she got the attention of her friends again. "We have food, but we need something more."

"Um, parties?" Ita suggested. May nodded.

"Good, anything else?"

"I know!" Ivan smiled, "Dancing! Everyone likes to dance."

"It's getting better!" May smiled. "What else?"

"A puppet show!" Elizabeth piped up.

"A play," Kibu offered. Everyone was coming up with great ideas, until Germanancy's smile faded.

"Where are we going to get all these materials?"

Everyone stopped talking and smiling. May shook her head.

"I don't know."

Suddenly, there was a loud noise and the children covered their ears to block out the sound.

"Whatever we're going to do," Kibu said once the sound had faded away. "we should do it soon. I think there are some guards coming our way."


	6. Chapter 6

The children prepared themselves to pounce on whomever was coming their way and hid from view behind the completely white landscaping area of trees and bushes. At least, that's what the shapes looked like. They probably would be noticeable since they were not white like the landscape, but where else could they hide? Something was coming towards them. Germanancy yelled as the figure came close enough to her and she tackled her opponent.

"No, stop!" screamed the figure. Nancy had her pocket knife poised to strike, but she moved off and away from the figure when she realized it was the Princess.

"You!"

"Man, are we glad to see you!" Amelia smiled as she and the other children came out of their hiding places. The Princess smiled, but then she sounded concerned.

"Ari is not with you?"

"No, he's not," Francis answered. Elizabeth clinched her fists.

"What IS with him?! He left us here alone, and what's worse he said that this war has nothing to do with him! He even refused to take us to King Picto!"

"I apologize for Ari's behavior to you all," Pictonova said in a sad voice. "He doesn't know how to help you. Because he has been here on this planet for almost all his life, I'm afraid he doesn't want to accept who he truly is. I suppose that is my fault. Until now, I have never been serious to teach him anything about being human. But I will take you to my Father, that's the least I can do."

"What about Ari?" Ita asked, showing concern. "What happens to him now?"

"Don't be concerned," the Princess said with a shake of her head. "He never has left Picto, I don't believe he will be gone for long."

"Well, then," May said as she stepped forward. "Which way to King Picto?"

Two Pictonian guards patrolled the castle gates. There was also a segway and a hoverboard a few feet away from them, most likely to chase after any unwanted guests or capture intruders.

Pictonova lead the way to the gates and they hide behind the rocks that covered the area. They also made sure to stay away from the roads in case there were guards or any Pictonians who would chase them.

"So what's the plan?" Amelia asked her once they were well hidden.

"Getting caught," Pictonova explained.

"What do you mean?" Iavn asked.

"Hai, I thought the whole point of getting in to meet King Picto didn't involve getting caught?" Kibu asked. Pictonova nodded.

"Yes, but even that wouldn't last long. We need to see my Father and getting caught should take us to him."

"'Should'?" Francis asked with a raised eyebrow. Amelia nodded.

"Right," she began to step out, but Ita pulled her back down.

"Hold on," he whispered.

"What?"

"Doesn't things seem a bit odd?"

"What does?" Amelia asked, still confused.

"Why do the Pictonians have hoverboards and segways?" he asked. Amelia shrugged.

"I don't know. Maybe they're more advanced than we thought?" she tried to move forward again, but Ita pulled her back.

"But why? Aren't segways and hoverboards human inventions?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Don't you think that's odd?" Ita continued to ask. Amelia was beginning to get angry with being interrupted from the plan.

"What's it matter? Come on, let's go!" she shook her arm free.

"That is fishy," Elizabeth nodded in agreement.

"Not you too!" Amelia complained. "Look, are we going to go with the plan of getting caught or no?"

Everyone was quiet and didn't make anymore interruptions.

"Good, now let's go," Amelia said as she moved forward. The others fallowed without complaint.

They walked towards the gate with their hands above their heads. The two Pictonian guards saw them and their claws popped out of their hands.

"The Humans, grab them!" They jumped down from the gate and pointed their claws at them.

"stop!" Pictonova raised her voice. "I am Pictonova, Princess of Picto. I demand an audience with the king!"

The two Pictonian guards looked at each other as if deciding what they should down.

"Very well," they nodded. "We will take you and the Humans to see King Picto."

King Picto frowned at the prisoners before him, or at least that's what it would look like if he had a face.

"Well, Pictonova. What do you have to say? Are you accepting punishment?" Pictonova stepped forward.

"No, Father. I came here with the eight children to reason with you," she told him in a calm voice. King Picto looked down at her from his throne and rested his hands to his cheek.

"What purpose do I have to listen to the pleas of Humans?"

"Please hear us out, King Picto," May said as she too took a step forward. "We want to know why you have captured us. And we also humbly ask if you will take us back to earth."

"I cannot permit you to leave. And as for your other question it is as I have told you before: I hate Humans and they deserve to pay for separating our kingdom," the King told her. He waved his hand and the Pictonian guards moved forward to take them away.

"Wait!" Ita yelled. "I noticed something: you have segways and hoverboards on this planet. Those are human inventions. If you hate the humans so much then why do you supply yourselves with human technology? Why do you keep humans on this planet?"

King Picto was silent for a long while. The children thought he had ignored their question, but then he sighed.

"I suppose I should tell you all the truth, since you will be here for a long while. You see, Little Humans, Picto is a dying planet."

"Vhat do you mean?" Nancy asked.

"I mean that Picto will soon disappear, like its neighboring planets that once had other intelligent life forms. In order to survive, we need the help of other intelligent creatures. And we found you Humans. It all began six years ago during the first invasion. I sent Pictoniva and her army to capture and destroy Human life. However, when she returned she told me about what she had learned from the Humans. At first, I was outraged and banned her and her army from the other Pictonians. But I began to realize that the Humans were much more advanced than I realized, and as the years continued on they began to invent time and time again. They are advancing faster than us, they are surviving! Yet, here we Pictonians are, struggling to survive. I realized that we needed the Humans, or at least their intelligence."

"So that's it?" Ivan asked. "You turn us into slaves just so you can torture us into making your planet a better place? That's the whole reason for capturing humans? Then why kill us if you value our intelligence?"

"You Humans are born everyday, and each Human has their own ideas about surviving. That's one thing I like about you Humans: You're unique. Don't get me wrong, however. I do hate you Humans, and I want to see your blood spill. But you can help us thrive. I have captured Humans who can create the inventions made on their planet, or at least those that can make something similar. Once they have completed their task, I either hand them over as slaves for my subjects or I kill you," King Picto told them.

"But you could do it too," Amelia said. "You could make those inventions yourselves, you don't need to make us do it for you. You said before that you have been watching the human life for the past six years. You're intelligent too, you can make something similar. I promise you, if you let us go you can continue to watch our lives change and you can find a way to make it yourself. You don't have to kill us, or keep us here for any reason. You can let us all go back to our planet."

King Picto looked in her direction as she spoke and was silent. It appeared as if he was considering it.

Amelia continued.

"I promise, we won't harm you or your people if you make this change. All we want is to go back to our planet. And no one will hunt you down. Your lives can remain a secret. So please, let us go. We don't have a reason to hurt one another anymore."

King Picto sighed and nodded.

"Very well. If what you say is true, then I will allow you to return to your planet, unharmed. However, if it turns out we can't thrive without Human assistance, we will hunt you down again."

"Or we could form an alliance," Kibu suggested. King Picto chuckled.

"An alliance, you say? That's something I shall have to consider for a long while. I suggest you should prepare yourselves for departure."

The Children smiled in union, but another chuckle rang out from behind them and they turned to see Yao walking in.

"I must say, it turns out you children have yet again overcome a great obstacle. I am impressed," he said as he walkied in, clapping his hands as he smirked.

"Yao!" they glared.

"I didn't think you could ever stop a war between aliens and humans, but it appears that you have," he said to them. He then turned to King Picto. "Now, King Picto. I have a question for you I would like answering: Where is the boy?"

"What 'boy'?" King Picto frowned. Yao smirked and shook his head.

"Don't play dumb with me. I know you know who I mean. I have been told the boy is of great importance. I shall be taking him back to earth with me. Now," he pulled out a pistol. "Where. Is. The. Boy?"

"Do you mean Ari?" Pictonova asked. Yao turned his head in her direction.

"I haven't been given the details. All I know is that there is a human boy on Picto and I came to take him back. If you know anything, my dear, please share it." He pointed the gun to her, but May stood in her way.

"You may have escaped last time, Yao. But now that we have found you again, we're taking you back home and to prison."

Yao glanced around at the Children as they began to surround him. Yao frowned.

"What is going on here? What happened?" came a voice. Everyone turned to see Ari in the doorway.

Yao stared at the boy in shock and dropped his pistol. He looked as if he was staring at a ghost and he fell to his kness.

"Ari? Ari Deshi?" he gasped.

"You know him?" Ita asked him. Yao didn't answer, he only continued to stare in pure shock at the child before them. Then he collapsed unconscious to the floor.

Elizabeth knelt down beside him and checked his pulse.

"He's alright," she said a moment later as she stood up. "He's just in shock."

"If there is no longer any interruptions, I'd like to be alone," King Picto said. He sounded annoyed.

"Yes, Your Highness," Elizabeth bowed. "We will be leaving now."

As the Children turned away, Ita still had one other question that bugged him. But he decided to ask Pictonova about it instead.

"What's a 'wrathworm'?"

"It's like a giant hairy worm," she told him simply.

"Oh...," Ita said with a nod.

"I wish you all a safe trip back," Pictonova said to the Children as they climbed into the ship that would bring them and the other humans back to earth. She then took May's hand and looked into each of their eyes.

"I thank you all, so very much!" she said as tears began to fall from her faceless face.

"Hey, we made a promise," May smiled back and placing her other hand on top of hers. "And you are welcome."

The ship departed for earth and they had returned within a few hours back to earth. Everyone was relieved to be back home. Ari and the Children were the last to get off the ship.

Ari stayed in the shadows, not wanting to leave the ship's plateform, but Amelia took his hand and pulled him onto solid ground. Ari looked frightened at first, but then he began to smile.

"Welcome to your new home, Ari," she said.

THE PICTONIAN WAR END


	7. Epilogue

EPILOGUE

Yao was lead into a dark room inside the UN national building. His hands were handcuffed and the eight Countries surrounding him all carried serious expressions, even Italy. The dark room was lit up and in the center was a metal table.

"So, you're going to torture me?" Yao asked with a smirk. Britain frowned. He was standing in front of the table.

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that. Sit down, please," he said as he stepped aside for Yao to sit on the table. The Countries all stood in front of him.

"Ve vant answers," Germany said simply.

"Obviously," Yao said as he glanced around at them. "I like your smiles, you should wear them more often."

"This is serious, Yao!" China said, holding back a glare.

"Tell us, who are you working for?" America asked as they all continued to frown.

"Funny, I thought you all knew that already. He knows what you do, and he can control you to do what he wants. You're nothing but his puppets!"

"He knows nothing about us!" Italy spoke up.

"Really? Then why have you rebelled against him? What you all seek is an illusion. World peace can never been obtained, you know that. You're Countries. War and violence runs through your veins, you can't stop that, it's your nature! Granted you have gained allies, but you did it through war! You can't have peace without war!"

"Silence!" Germany yelled. Yao was starting to sound crazy, like a madman all over again. Yao chuckled.

"So it is true, if you lose your temper so easily."

"Secure him," Germany instructed. America and Japan strapped Yao to the table, but the man's expression didn't change.

"Torture isn't going to give you what you want. True, I can offer you information, but it doesn't prevent anything from stopping. So go ahead, torture me all you wish. It won't matter."

"I think you just need a while to think about what you have done," Britain said. "But don't worry, sooner or later we will get what we want from you. I guarantee that."

They all turned on their heels and left Yao alone in the room. Yao stared at the ceiling in silence. He knew it would be pointless to struggle, he didn't have to struggle to know that he was already secured tight.

"It appears you have failed again," came a voice. Yao frowned and he felt his temper raising.

"I have nothing to say to you," he said. The voice chuckled.

"Why? Because you failed?"

"Simply because you lied to me. Why didn't you tell me that you resurrected my son? Why didn't you tell me that he was the one you were looking for? What do you even want with him?"

"Too many questions, but I will answer a few. First, I wanted to surprise you. And it appears that I did. And second, even if I did tell you the truth there would be no way you could stop me. True, you and I may be currently in a bind, but even if we weren't I'd still win. I guess you could say that you didn't have to know," the Voice told him.

"Sorry I can no longer be of service to you," Yao said with sarcasm as he rolled his eyes. "Who will you have for your henchman now?"

"That is none of your concern. Now if you'll excuse me, I believe you have an appointment with torture soon. I'd hate for you to miss it," the Voice said with a smile hidden within it.

"Don't go, I'm not finish with you yet!" Yao yelled in anger as he began to struggle. "Leave Ari out of it!"

However, he was only given silence and was once again alone. Yao sighed and gave up struggling.

"Just you wait, I'll get back at you for betraying me like this!"


End file.
